PRIDE in the Laboratory
The laboratory has an opportunity to be leaders in healthcare when it comes to addressing the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. Education, understanding, and compassion at both the institutional and individual levels is necessary to ensure the continuation of providing high-quality patient care. Check out the articles below to learn more about how pathologists and medical laboratory scientists are fostering these qualities to create a better experience for the LGBTQ+ population. For more information, read interviews with members of the LGBTQ+ laboratory community from 2021 and 2022.
Pathology and Transgender Care—What Has Changed in the Past Decade, and Where are We Heading?
Care for transgender and gender-expansive patients is a prominent issue in healthcare today. While health disparities, stigmas, and other barriers to care for these patient populations are works-in-progress with many hurdles to overcome, over the past decade there have been some strides in improving care for this community in healthcare generally, and at the laboratory level.
Can Laboratories Lead the Way in Transgender Care?
Requesting or obtaining a standard laboratory test for a health concern might seem like a basic task for most people. For transgender patients, something as seemingly simple as requesting or obtaining a standard laboratory test for a health concern can be a big challenge. The laboratory can be a leader in educating staff, updating information systems, and finding creative workarounds to better serve this population.